Daily News: Monday 11/6/17

Lamborghini Shows Terzo Millennio EV Concept

If any company faces an uphill battle when it comes to adopting electric vehicle technology, it is Lamborghini. Customers of the Italian company expect more passion and soul from their cars, something hard to achieve with nearly silent electric motors. The company is wholly aware of that, and has spent the last year collaborating with students and professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on future car technologies aimed at achieving these characteristics.

The first product of this collaboration was revealed today in concept form, and my oh my, is it a looker. The vehicle, called Terzo Millennio—Italian for “Third Millennium”—is designed to show of what the future of the super sports car will be for Lamborghini.

Lamborghini wants an electric car that can run three or four laps of the Nurburgring Nordschleife in a row at full tilt, then completely recharge within a few minutes. While this may sound crazy, battery technology has progressed to the point that this could very well be completed by the middle of the next decade.

To aid in this technological progression Lamborghini’s collaboration with MIT is focused in two areas—energy-storage systems, and material science. Instead of conventional batteries, the Terzo Millenio uses supercapacitors, which can provide great power and recover and harvest kinetic energy at the same time.

While supercapacitors don’t age as quickly batteries, making them ideal for car use, they also don’t have quite the same level energy density as the batteries used in electric cars. Luckily, Prof. Dinca’s lab is working towards creating parity between supercapacitors and batteries.

These supercapacitors will power an electric motor for each wheel, allowing all-wheel drive and the levels of torque vectoring that are now becoming normal. Different from most EV’s however, is the placement of these motors: directly at the wheel.

While normally engineers want to bring the weight in-board, Lamborghini states that such a set-up allows aerodynamicists more freedom in their design. To top off the technological showcases of the car, it is equipped with a carbon structure that can heal itself if it detects any cracks. If the car detects carbon-fiber damage, micro-channels generate heat to seal cracks and mitigate risk of any further damage.

Don’t expect to see this car anytime soon, however the technologies showcased here shows that Lamborghini is thinking about the future.

Ducati Ditches the V-Twin, Introduces First Ever Production-V4

While I spend most of my time reading, writing, and watching stuff on cars, even I know some never-ending truths of the motorcycle world. One of these: that Ducati always uses a big V-twin engine, has come to an end today. While the last top-dog Ducati used a 90-degree V-twin engine, the new Panigale V4 uses–you guessed it–a V4 engine.

Whereas the last engine displaced 1299cc’s the new engine displaces 1103 cc, with four valves per cylinder and, of course, a desmodromic valvetrain. With a counterrotating crankshaft, the engine cranks out 214 hp at 13,000 rpm and 91.5 lb-ft at 10,000 rpm.

Seriously impressive stuff.

Ducati also gave the bike data recording capabilities, an ABS system that allows for controlled slides and only acts on the front brake during cornering, and a quick shifter mechanism for upshifts and downshifts.

The new bike comes in three models: Panigale V4; V4 S (a few pounds lighter); and V4 Speciale, an even lighter model making 226 horsepower thanks to an Akrapovic titanium exhaust, with a unique three-color livery. Only 1500 of the top model will be produced.